To What extent was slavery the key cause of the American Civil War? - page 8
Keywords: american civil war, slavery, Civil war, causes of war
By ROYDS on 26/09/2008
Level: A Level (Year 12) / AS Level
Page Number: 8 of 8 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
in the built up to war. Herman Melville described his raid at Harpers Ferry as, ‘ the meteor of war’ and even at the time Richmond newspaper recognised that, “The Harpers’s ferry invasion has advanced the cause of disunion more that any other event that has happened since the formation of its government.”
I would argue that the causes of dispute and succession previous to the Civil War are not necessarily the causes of the war itself, though a cause of dispute none the less. We can recognise there were many problems in America involved with, differences in southern and northern economies, state rights, conspiracy theories and sectional politicians only interested in person gain. However slavery and the expansion of it in the 19th century was the main cause for war. All the other problems in America, socially, politically and economically are all closely linked to slavery in some way. For example the main economic difference between the north and the south was one depended on slave labour the other did not; Where politicians, agitators and conspiracists stirred up emotions was over the issue of slavery and Western expansion was only a problem because it meant the spread of slavery. All the other issues in America are not really causes for war as if slavery had not existed in America then the south would not have felt they had to succeed, preventing civil war.
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